Canada has expressed preference for a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) instead of one with the Philippines, dampening the hopes of some groups that a bilateral trade deal between the two countries will be forged.

European firms have shown their optimism about the Vietnamese economy, which is recovering strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic, Vice Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) Nguyen Hai Minh has said.

Latin American countries and China are building stronger relationships, opening up new trade channels and strengthening supply chains for mutual benefits, according to analysts.

Vietnam has attracted more than US$18.7 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the initial nine months of the year, an annual decline of 15.3%, according to detail compiled by the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

Vietnam and India hold great potential for cooperation in establishing supply chains following COVID-19, which has seriously affected both economies over the past two years due to disruptions in regional and global supply chains, according to Indian analysts.

Two weeks after India formally joined three of the four pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), external affairs minister S Jaishankar met United States (US) commerce secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington DC on Monday and discussed the framework and its implications.

The agreement has given logistics services stronger commitments compared to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Currently, the UK is the second-largest importer and consumer of pepper in Europe after Germany and Việt Nam is among major pepper suppliers for this market.

Việt Nam will create the most favourable conditions for British investors to expand trade and investment in the country as part of an effort to carry out the ASEAN-United Kingdom Dialogue Partnership action plan.

Vietnamese businesses must stay vigilant and do their homework to avoid trade and legal disputes in exporting to the UK to take full advantage of the United Kingdom-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which officially went into effect last May, say industry experts and policymakers.